


Be Brave

by Lorren



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: F/M, Tobias chooses Abnegation, Tobias stands up to Marcus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorren/pseuds/Lorren
Summary: What could have happened if Tobias Eaton had decided to stay in Abnegation?  In this short story, he makes the decision to remain in Abnegation, and stand up to his father.  As he begins his life as an adult, away from Marcus, he meets a girl that he's seen from afar, but has never really gotten to know - Beatrice prior.





	Be Brave

The next hour is going to be one of the most important hours of my life.  Today is the day of my choosing ceremony.

I'm standing in a line with all the other sixteen year-olds in the city.  We all will have the chance today to decide which faction we will belong to, which will decide our fate for the rest of our lives.  Our city is divided into five factions: Dauntless, the brave people who become our security guards; Erudite, the intelligent people who act as our scientists and teachers; Amity, the kind-hearted people who do all the farming; Candor, the honest people who act as judges; and of course, Abnegation, the selfless people who run the government.  My birth faction.  My father, Marcus Eaton's, faction.

That, of course, is the difficulty.  I believe in most of what Abnegation teaches.  I want to be a good person who gives to other people.  I don't need to take all the attention for myself.  Unfortunately, if I stay in Abnegation I'll have to face my father on a regular basis.  He's currently Abnegation's leader.  If people only knew what a hypocrite he is.  Last night, he discovered some of the treasures that I had collected over the years: although most people might think of my "treasures" as junk, I found them soothing -- an old pair of glasses I found, pieces of broken motherboards, part of a rusty knife -- when my father found them, he was livid.  He took his belt to my back; it's still sore even now, as I stand here waiting to make my choice.  After that, he smashed all of my treasures.

This wasn't the first time he abused me, of course.  It's been like that my whole life.  When I was little, he used to lock me up in our upstairs closet, sometimes for hours.  He beat my mom.  After she died when I was nine years old, his beatings got worse.  I need to leave him.

Max, the leader of Dauntless, is giving the speech this year.  The faction leaders take turns every year giving the speech.  "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony!" his deep voice booms.  "Today you will choose your factions.  Until this point you have followed your parents' paths, your parents' rules.  Today you will find your own path, make your own rules."

Could it be that easy?  Could I find my own path, make my own rules?  I ponder that thought for a while.  I wouldn't have to live with Marcus any more.  During initiation, I won't be living with my father, and after initiation, I don't have to go live with him.  Still… I would have to see him.

I barely listen as Max talks about the virtues of the five factions.  I could never join Amity.  They are a faction of healed people; I am too broken to fit in with them.  I could never join Candor; I've told too many lies in my life for that, covering for my father after all of my beatings, or explaining why I wasn't able to go to the Abnegation picnics that Marcus wouldn't let me attend for fear of embarrassing him.  I'm too emotional for Erudite.

I think about Dauntless.  I might be able to make a home in Dauntless.  I sigh.  Joining Dauntless would be an act of cowardice.  I'm not sure if I really agree with all of their virtues either.  On the other hand, it would take an act of extreme bravery to stay in Abnegation and stand up, no, disown, my father.  How ironic - the most Dauntless thing that I could do would be to stay in my own faction.

If I'm going to do it, I will have to stand up to my father.  I will have to be brave.

Max has finished his speech, and my peers are choosing their factions.  At the choosing ceremony, the names are always called in reverse alphabetical order, so Gregory Zellner goes first.  I watch as people approach the five large metal bowls in front of us, making a cut in their hands and letting their blood drip onto the faction of their choice.  He picks Amity.

I watch as the names are called.  Anne Erasmus is standing on my left.  She's in Abnegation with me, but I doubt that she even knows that I exist.  She's probably never said more than a few words to me in my life.  To my right is some guy from Erudite.

"Johnson, Maria."  She's wearing Candor black and white, but decides to transfer to Erudite.  Across the room, I see her parents gasp in shock.  I would love to do that to my father.  It would be cowardly, but satisfying.  If I choose to stay in Abnegation, could I truly be brave enough to cut off all family ties with him?  I don't know.

I watch as several more names are called.  So many people that know where they belong.  So many people who don't have to worry, as I do, about making a life for themselves.

"Erasmus, Anne."

She walks up to the front and takes her knife from Max.  Not surprisingly, she picks Abnegation.

"Eaton, Tobias."

As I walk to the front, I feel my heart fluttering.  Can I really do this?  If I can't stand up to my father, I need to join Dauntless to get away from him.

I take my knife from Max and make the cut in my hand.

I let the blood pool in my palm between the two bowls.  Grey stones, and the difficulty of standing up to my father and building a life separate from him?  Or sizzling coals, stabbing a knife in my father's heart now, but not truly living the values that I most believe in.

I am brave.  I move my hand over and watch as my blood drops on the stones.

I sit down with my initiation class, not bothering to look in my father's direction.  He might be pleased now, but I don't think that he will stay that way.

I sit down next to a Candor transfer.  "Steve Simmons," he says to me, holding out his hand. He obviously doesn't know how things work in Abnegation yet.  We almost never touch people.  Occasionally, we will shake hands with members of another faction, but we never shake hands with people in our own faction.  "Tobias," I say in a voice barely above a whisper, nodding my head.  Most people in the city go by their first names anyway.  "Nice to meet you."

Maybe I can share a room with Steve during initiation.  He doesn't have any preconceived notions about me.  I know that people gossip about me.  In Abnegation, gossip is considered to be selfish, so it is frowned upon, but that doesn't mean it never happens.  Since my father has kept me from almost all of our community events, up until now, most people think that I'm sickly, or strange, or immoral.

"Andrews, Colton."  The last one to choose.  He chooses to remain in his birth faction of Amity, dripping his blood over the bowl with dirt in it.

After the ceremony concludes, we continue to sit.  I watch as the new Dauntless initiates whoop and cheer as they jump out of their seats and rush out the door.  The other factions aren't quite as loud, but they all seem excited.  Steve fidgets in his seat next to me.

"We'll be cleaning up after this," I whisper to him, so he knows why we are still sitting quietly.  He nods.

When most of the people clear out, a woman in a baggy gray dress steps in front of us.  "I am Jessica," she announces.  "I'll be your initiation coordinator this year."

She slowly looks around at all of us.  "I see that we have a few transfers this year."  She looks to Steve, a boy with tan skin and black hair, a tall blonde girl, and a brunette wearing glasses.  I don't recognize them, so they must be the transfers.  "I expect that the rest of our Abnegation born initiates will make them feel right at home and help them learn about life in Abnegation."

"We will be splitting up into the boys' and the girls' houses.  Chris, the chaperone for the boys' house, is already over there, getting things ready.  Tomorrow, we will start our volunteer projects for initiation.  I know that many of you already have your favorite volunteer projects that you like to work on, but for initiation, I expect you to get out of your comfort zone and try something new."  Her eyes rest on mine as she says this.  "Before we head to the initiation houses, however, we will be cleaning this room."

Around me, I hear a couple of people groan.  Must be the new initiates.  The rest of us already knew what to expect.

Fortunately, my father has already left.

___

 

The first week of Abnegation initiation has gone by pretty well.  Steve is actually fairly nice.  As a former Candor, he speaks his mind a little bit more than he should, but at least he's willing to talk to me.  I just hope that it doesn't hurt him as he tries to make friends with some of the other initiates.

I spent most of the week helping with the paving project that Abnegation is working on.  The streets are terrible, and we're trying to fill in the potholes in the streets, as long as we can get building materials to work with.  It's fairly exhausting work, and it makes my muscles sore by the end of the day, but it's a good kind of tired.

This Saturday morning, I have volunteered to distribute the food to Abnegation for the week.  We all eat the same plain meals, which we pick up once a week.  The girls put the boxes together yesterday.  Today, I just have to wait at the distribution center while someone comes to pick it up.

Robert Black arrives first.  I doubt he knows me, even though I've lived across the street from him for most of my life.  He's two years younger than I am, and has a sister named Susan.

"Black," he announces.  I nod at him in greeting and go to the back room to pick up his family's box.  I hand it to him, and he takes it without saying anything else.

A few more families stop by, and it's generally the same thing.  If they know who I am, they don't really want to acknowledge it.

My father shows up.  This will probably be the most awkward part of the day.  I nod at him in greeting.

"Son," he says, as he arrives.  I look at him flatly and go get him his box.  Since he lives alone now, it's a lighter box than most.

"Initiates aren't supposed to socialize with family members," I say, handing him his box.  Part of him looks disappointed.  Good.  I watch him walk away with relief.

A while later, a young blonde girl comes to pick up her family's box.  She looks to be somewhere between ten and twelve years old, but I recognize her, and I know that she's fourteen.  She's Beatrice Prior.  Her father, Andrew, works with my father.  "Hello," she says, smiling.

"Hello," I reply.  I smile back at her.  She's probably the first person that's smiled at me all day.

"I'm here for the Prior box," she says.  "I'm Beatrice."

I go to pick up her family's box.  I don't know if she'll be able to carry the box.  It seems pretty heavy, and she's so small.

"Are you a transfer?" she asks as I put the box on the counter in front of me.

I shake my head.  "No.  I'm Tobias."

She looks at me with curiosity.  "Tobias _Eaton_?"

"Yeah," I say.  "But I prefer to just go by Tobias."

She gives me an odd look.  I guess it would be a little strange not to want to be known by your last name when your father is the leader of the city.  After a moment, she shrugs.  "Nice to meet you, Tobias."  She reaches for her box.

She pauses for a moment.  "Strange how we've never met before," she says, looking straight at me.

"I guess."  I look away, down at my shoes.  It's not really strange, but I don't want to get into it with this near-stranger at the moment.

"Well, don't be a stranger," she says, grabbing her box.

She starts to turn.  "Is that too heavy for you?" I ask.

"No, it's fine," she says over her shoulder.  "Bye, Tobias."

"Bye, Beatrice," I say as she walks away.

Other than my conversation with Steve last night at the initiate's house, that had to have been the longest conversation that I've had with someone close to my age in years.

___

 

Another Saturday.  Today another initiate is distributing food boxes, but we're going to be feeding the factionless today.  It's my job to put the food onto paper plates.  My station is supposed to be for two people to man, but none of the other initiates really want to work with me.  Steve already took the job of taking the plates to the tables.  Non-initiates will be helping today as well, but I'm not sure if any of then will want to work with me, either.

I see the Prior family walk in.  Beatrice is frowning; her older brother, Caleb, seems to be scolding her for something.  For a moment, I wonder what it would be like to have a sibling.  I don't know if it would be worse, to watch my father beat someone else in addition to me, or better, if I had had someone that could relate to me.

I notice Beatrice looking up at me.  I see a small smile on her lips, and she walks over to me.

"Hello, Tobias," she says as she reaches my station.  "Need some help?"

"Sure," I say.  "If you want, you can do the silverware."

She nods, and starts gathering up a knife, fork, and spoon, and rolls them up in a napkin.

"What's it like, having a sibling?" I ask.  I hope the question isn't too invasive.

She shrugs.  "I don't know, normal?  I guess I've never thought about it."  She hands me a bundle of silverware.  "Caleb is nice and all.  Sometimes it's difficult having a sibling that is _perfect_ at being selfless, though."

I raise my eyebrow at her.

"Well, I often forget to be selfless.  He never does though, so he's always reminding me to be good and all that."

I nod.

Steve comes to the table to pick up a couple of plates.  Beatrice nods at him.  "I'm Beatrice," she says.

"Steve."

"Nice to meet you."

Steve takes the plates away.

"What's it like not having a sibling?" she asks.

I shrug.  I suppose that most people would want to talk about their families, but I'm not most people.  My family has been broken for about as long as I can remember.  "I've never known any different."

We continue to talk as we prepare the plates of food together.  It's strange having someone talk to me for this long, but I'm not going to complain.  Maybe Beatrice never got the memo that there's something wrong with me, either.  She even remembered my name after meeting me a week ago.  Maybe she's just that selfless though.  Even though she says that she's not very selfless, maybe that's not really true.  We often have trouble evaluating what we're really like.

After we get done feeding the factionless, Steve and I walk back to the initiates' house.

"Looks like you've got yourself a tiny admirer," he says, elbowing me in the side.  I guess Candor habits die hard, since that's not really an Abnegation trait.

I shake my head.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That little girl that was helping you today.  Betsy…"

"Beatrice."

"Yeah, Beatrice.  She likes you."

I give him an incredulous look.  "Is that why you left Candor?" I ask.  "Because you enjoy lying?" I raise my eyebrow at him.  "Mocking someone isn't really seen as a selfless trait, either."

He shakes his head.  "No, I'm not lying.  I'm not sure if she's figured it out yet, but I'm pretty sure that she likes you."  He looks over at me.  "In Candor, we learn how to read people.  She kept looking at you."

"We were working together."

"Well, I know that, but that’s not what I meant.  You'll see.  Next time you see her, watch."

I shake my head.  "Whatever you saw, I'm pretty sure it's just because she's very selfless."

Steve shrugs.  "Anyway, I'm glad it's not me.  I don't really need the hassle of having a ten-year-old admirer.  That way I don't have to turn her down."

"She's fourteen."

"Now you're the one that's lying."

"No, our fathers work together.  She just looks younger than she is."

___

 

Tonight is the monthly Abnegation meeting.  Andrew will be giving the lecture. 

I sit down with the initiates.  The other guys in Abnegation have started to talk to me, a little, while we prepare our meals, but this is Abnegation, so it's not like they're very talkative or anything.  At least they're beginning to realize that I'm not a freak or something.  Still, I sit down next to Steve, who I can almost call a friend at this point.

The chairs are arranged in a semi-circle around the main podium.  The initiates are sitting on one side of the semi-circle.  Andrew already arrived a while ago in order to prepare, but I see the rest of the Priors walk in.  Caleb is saying something to Beatrice.  Is she _rolling her eyes_?  That's a little strange for an Abnegation girl.  When she sits down, her face almost appears angry.

Steve was completely wrong.  She is not interested in me.

Beatrice starts to look around, scanning the room.  Her glance reaches the initiate's section, and she rests her eyes on mine.  She smiles.  After a moment, she looks away.

I must be imagining things.

The meeting is typical.  Andrew tells us that when we do something wrong, we should let our guilt teach us to do better next time.  After the meeting, we start to clean up.  One thing about Abnegation, there is never a shortage of people helping to clean up.

My father approaches me as I clean up, which causes me to shiver.  I nod at him and say hello tersely.  Fortunately, it looks like he's taking this no talking to family members thing to heart, and he walks away before things get too uncomfortable.

As he walks away, I look up.  Beatrice is looking at me, folding a chair.  I can't decipher her expression, but it seems like she must have seen our interaction.  I'm sure that she doesn't know what to think of it.  I know that I wouldn't.

She puts away that chair, and folds a chair next to where I am.  "Hello, Tobias," she says.  She looks over at Steve, who is folding a chair next to mine.  She gets a pained expression on her face.  "I'm so sorry," she says to him.  "I know I met you a few days ago, but I can't remember your name."

"Steve."

That's odd.  Beatrice remembered my name a week after meeting me.  It's only been three days since she met Steve.  Maybe she remembered my name because our parents work together.  That must be it.  I’m sure it's not anything else.

___

 

Visiting Day.  Most initiates look forward to this day, when they can finally see their families for the first time.  This is the day that I've been dreading since my blood fell on the stones.

Transfers, like my roommate, may or may not see their parents today.  Some families are so hurt that they choose not to visit their children.  Non-transfers almost always take the opportunity to go to their parents' house and have dinner with them, talking to them for the first time as another adult.

Since I'm considered an adult now, I take the opportunity to use my new-found freedom -- to not visit my father.

I sleep in that morning.  As evening arrives, I start preparing dinner at the initiate house.  It doesn't look like Steve's family is going to come.

Steve walks down the stairs and gives me an odd look.  "Why are you still here?"

I don't look up from the carrots that I'm chopping.  "I don't want to see my father."

"Why is that?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."  Most people admire Marcus.  Besides, this is not really something I like to talk about with anybody.

He takes out the chicken and starts preparing it.  "Sorry to hear about that."

I hear a knock at the door.  My heart sinks to the floor.

Steve offers to answer it, and a flood of relief washes over me when I realize that his parents are here.  I let out a breath that I didn't know that I had been holding.

I hear another knock on the door as I begin to set the table.  I set the silverware down and walk to the door.  This has to be Marcus.  I take a deep breath, steeling myself for the inevitable conversation.

I open the door to see my father standing there.

"You didn't come to our house today," he says quietly.  I can hear the tenseness in his voice.

"It's your house now," I say quietly.  "I'm no longer your problem."

"What's gotten into you, Tobias?"  He grabs my arm.

I shake his arm off.  "Sixteen years of living with you.  It was enough."  He frowns.  "I considered transferring to Dauntless, just to get rid of you."  He looks like I just slapped him in the face.  "I decided that I wasn't going to let you chase me away, though.  Abnegation's values are my values too."

I look him in the eye.  "You have my respect as the faction leader, of course, but I really don't want a father-son relationship with you."  My father looks like he's about to be sick.  "I'm sorry."

I look away.  He might be a monster, but there's still a part of him that is my father, and I just hurt him.  I did it for my own good, however.  I turn away and close the door on him.

My roommate and his parents are looking at me with confusion.  I shake my head.  I don't really want to talk about it.  Ever.

___

Initiation comes and goes, and before I know it, I'm a full-fledged member of Abnegation.  Steve and I share a house with Greg, one of the other new members.  I enjoy working on the road repair project, so for now, I continue working on that as one of my main jobs.  Fortunately, I don't have to see my father very often on that project.  Whenever I see him at faction meetings or community events (which I can now go to, since my father can't stop me any more), he glares at me, but there's not much that I can do about that.

I'm beginning to think that Beatrice might _like_ me.  Whenever I see her at community service projects, she always smiles at me.  At first, I thought that maybe she's always like that, but after watching her with other people, I realize that that's not really the case.

Too bad that she doesn't really know the real me.  If she did, I don't think that she'd be smiling so much.

Shortly after initiation was over, I discovered the shock of my life.  My mother didn't die.  Evidently, my father made up a story about her dying in childbirth to cover up the fact that she was having an affair and ended up leaving him.  While I don't blame her for leaving him, I am upset that she left me with Marcus.  In addition to being alive, she's actually the leader of the factionless.  She asked me to join her, but I think I'll pass.  I've had enough to do with my parents for one lifetime, I think.

___

 

The fall comes, and life seems to have developed its new normal.  It's not bad.  Life is better than I expected, even.  My chest still tightens up whenever I see Marcus, and I can tell that he's not happy with my decision, but at least the beatings have stopped.

I have to figure out what to do about Beatrice though.  She has begun to fill my dreams for some reason.  At first, I thought that maybe I was just interested in her because she was the first person close to my age to actually talk to me like I’m a human being, but over the summer, I've started to realize that it's more than that.  She's not like any of the other Abnegation girls; in fact, I'm a little concerned that when she turns sixteen, she might want to transfer.  She often makes comments about how she's not selfless, even though I clearly see that she genuinely cares about other people.

My other concern is that she doesn't know about my brokenness.  If she does like me, I can't let her continue to do so unless she knows my secrets.  _How_ to do that is the problem.  It's not something I want anybody else to know about.

My opportunity comes while I'm cleaning up after the September Abnegation meeting.  While I'm cleaning up, I find a book on the floor entitled _Advanced Chemistry_.  Yawn.  _Somebody's_ going to be transferring to Erudite some day.  I open the cover and see the name inside.  Caleb Prior.

Well.  If Caleb lost his book, I guess I'm going to have to return it to him.

I wait until Thursday to knock on their door after work.  My father often has dinner with the other Abnegation leaders on Wednesday, and I'd rather not deal with him if I don't have to.  I try to time my arrival shortly before dinner, so they'll feel like they have to invite me to stay.  I know that it's sneaky and somewhat selfish, but I have flaws just like everybody else.  Probably more flaws than most.

Andrew opens the door.  "Tobias Eaton!  How are you doing?" he asks.

I look down at my shoes for a moment.  "I was… cleaning up after the meeting on Tuesday, and I found something that belonged to Caleb."  I hold up the book.

"That was awfully considerate of you to bring it over," he replies.  He looks over his shoulder.  "Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"I wouldn't want to be much of a bother," I notice Beatrice in the kitchen making a salad with her mother.  She has looked from her salad and sees me.

"Nonsense.  We'd love to have you, wouldn't we?"  Beatrice nods from the kitchen.  She puts down her salad and walks into another room.  When she comes back, she's carrying a chair, which she sets down at the table.

"You can sit here," she says, pointing to the chair that she just brought to the table.  She goes back into the kitchen to grab the salad that she just finished making, and sits down next to the chair she told me to sit in.

Caleb sits down in the chair on the other side of me, and gives me a funny look.

"Thanks for bringing my book back," he says.

"My pleasure."  Really, it is.

Andrew and Natalie sit down at the table with us, and they hold hands.  Natalie reaches out for Beatrice's hand, and Andrew grabs Caleb's.  Both Beatrice and Caleb put their hands up to take my hands.  It feels a little strange to be doing this, but this must be normal in their house.

I wouldn't know what normal is anyway.  Most of the time growing up I'd eat dinner by myself, usually in a hurry, so I could get out of Marcus's way.

"Dear Lord, thank you for this day, and our jobs, and our family.  Thank you for this food and for the company that we have this evening."  Although I hear the words, I'm not paying much attention.  It's hard to pay attention to the prayer with this tingling sensation going through my hand that's joined with Beatrice's.  I wonder if she feels it too.

I sneak a glance over at her.  A smile is playing at the corner of her lips.  Maybe she does feel it.

We take some food and pass the serving dishes to the right, which is a typical Abnegation custom.  Even though I rarely ate with my father, at least he taught me enough etiquette to know that.  We wait until everybody is served, and then we start eating.

At dinner, I chat with Andrew and Natalie.  Children are not supposed to talk at dinner, and even though Caleb and Beatrice are not much younger than I am, since they are still dependents, they are expected to be quiet at dinner.  Since I am a full Abnegation member, I'm considered an adult, and am allowed to speak.  Beatrice manages to interject a few comments, which are always followed by a disapproving glare from her brother.  I'm beginning to see why she often frowns at him.

After we eat, I help clear the table.  It's Beatrice's turn to wash dishes, and I offer to help.

"It's no trouble," she says.

"I insist."  It seems to be an Abnegation ritual to refuse offers of help the first time given.

Caleb goes to his room to do homework, and Andrew and Natalie go into the living room, leaving us alone.  Beatrice looks over at me and smiles.  "I'm glad you came," she says quietly.

I laugh as quietly as I can.  "I'm glad I found Caleb's book."

She scrubs the dishes, while I dry them.  "I need to tell you something," I say, barely above a whisper.

"Go ahead."

I shake my head.  "Not here."

She gives me a confused look.

"Can you meet me after school tomorrow?  In the Factionless section?"

"I'll have to make an excuse to Caleb about why I can't take the bus with him, but I think I can manage it."

"Good.  I'll see you then."

We continue to wash dishes as if we never made the plans.  After the dishes are finished, I say goodbye to everyone and leave.

___

 

I leave work early so I can meet Beatrice shortly after school gets out.  I spot her as she is walking towards me and wave.  She smiles and heads directly towards me.

When she gets close enough, I grab both of her hands and pull her into an abandoned building.

"What's this all about?" she asks.  "I had to tell Caleb that I needed extra help with math, and he almost volunteered to do it himself."

"I needed to make sure that we were somewhere where nobody else could hear."

Her eyes widen in fear.

I shake my head.  "I just needed to tell you something.  It's important."  I drop her hands.

She seems to relax.

I put my hands in my pockets, partly out of nervousness, partly so I don't try to grab her hands again.  "I like you, you know."

"And you couldn't tell me that while we were doing dishes?"

"No, that's not what I wanted to tell you.  That's just _why_ I need to tell you this."  I scratch the back of my neck.  I'm not sure where to start.

She gives me a curious look.  "I have to wonder what's with all the secrecy.  Do you go around holding girls' hand or something?"

I shake my head.  "I've actually never held a girl's hand before.  Before today anyway.  Other than when I was praying last night."  I feel my face turn red.  "Umm… how can I say this?  I guess the first thing you need to know is… my mom's not dead."

Her eyes widen, partly out of surprise, partly out of disbelief.  "I went to her funeral."

I shrug.  "It was news to me as well.  A few weeks ago, she contacted me.  I guess she's the leader of the factionless now or something."

"They have a leader?"

"I guess."  I hesitate for a second.  "That's not really the important thing though.  _Why_ she left is more important.  She left because my she was having an affair."  I take a deep breath.  "She started having an affair because my father was abusive."

She nods.  "That’s why he acts so strangely around you."  Her eyes look sad, but they don't seem to be pitying me.

She's very perceptive.  Maybe she's Erudite.  "I almost decided to transfer to Dauntless.  It would have been my first act of rebellion against him.  But then I realized that I believe in a lot of Abnegation's values, and it would have been an act of cowardice just to let him drive me out like that.  But I decided that if I was going to stay in Abnegation, I would have to stand up to him."  I laugh.  "It took more courage for me to stay in Abnegation than it would have been to join Dauntless."

"That's a strange statement."  Her mouth twists in an odd way.

"Well, umm… I figured that if you ever thought that you might like me someday too, you'd want to know the truth.  That I'm damaged.  Broken."  I feel my shoulders slump.  "Please don't say anything about this conversation to anybody else.  This isn't something I like to share with other people."

She reaches for my hand.  "Your secret is safe with me." She grins.  "I like you too.  And you're not beyond repair.  People can be mended."  She lets go of my hand.

I can't help but grin.  "I wonder if teenagers in Abnegation actually follow that no hand-holding rule when they're not in public.  Because I kind of like it.  And I know that, even though most people in Abnegation are good people, they can be hypocrites about some things as well."

She shrugs.  "I don’t know if they do either.  I'm sure that some of them don't."

I put my hands in my pockets.  "Well, I guess that you should go.  I don't want to get you into trouble.  See you around."

"See you."  Beatrice starts to walk away, but I see her turn her head back to look at me as she leaves the building.

After she leaves, I can't help but to grin like an idiot.  Part of me is afraid that she'll end up choosing another faction at the end of the next school year, but another part of me believes that she seems happy enough in Abnegation, and if all goes well, she might just decide to stay.  But that's a long way off into the future, and anything could happen between now and then.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you like this story. I don't have any plans to add to it at the moment or anything (I actually hope to finish another longer book-length fanfic that I'm currently working on in another fandom and then hope to resume working on Like Normal People shortly after that). Maybe someday I'd want to elaborate on this more, but life is pretty busy. Thanks for reading!


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